But WHY?

Apr 05, 2019

WHY do you do what you do?

You know... beyond making money?

This was the question we asked at "Daring Divas Connect" in Boulder, CO earlier this week - a "non-networky" networking event that I designed to help our members cut the chit chat and get to know each other beyond "what do you do?".

Knowing your WHY and shouting it from the rooftops (in social media posts, on your website, when you share your story, in a webinar, at networking events, etc.) is more important in today's crowded online space than EVER!

You see, we humans are not rational beings. We make decisions based on how we feel. And if you don't make us feel something through your marketing (by sharing your WHY), we'll quickly forget you and move on to the next best thing.

The Million-Dollar Mistake

Most of the noise generated online is from inexperienced business owners droning on about the WHAT of their business (their tools and what they sell).

Talking about your tools and the nitty gritty details of your programs or products doesn't make us feel anything. It's just information. BORING information at that.

To catch and keep your potential client's attention in this noisy world, you need to tap into their emotions by sharing your WHY. Your WHY helps them feel connected with you and we want to do business with brands we feel emotionally connected with.

At our "Daring Divas Connect" event earlier this week, I called this the "WHY Warm Up." We partnered up and explored our answers to the following questions. I recommend doing this before trying to come up with your WHY just out of the blue.

Here are the 5 questions:

How would the world look different if everyone who needed your service/product had access to it?

What parts of your past have had the greatest influence on why you do what you do today?

What is the most exciting result a client could share with you about your work together?

What motivates you to get out of bed every morning?

What does success look like beyond money?

Get out a pen and paper and brainstorm your answers to these questions now, before moving on to the next step.

How to Write Your WHY Statement

Ok, now it's time to write your WHY statement. But before you begin, know that you'll probably have many WHY's to choose from after exploring your answers the questions above. That's ok.

You can have more than one WHY. You might have a big umbrella WHY and many little WHY's underneath. Or maybe you'll identify a "Business WHY" and a "Personal WHY. "

The point isn't getting this perfect - there's not a right and wrong WHY. The point is digging deep to explore your motivations for being in business beyond making money, then sharing these things with your audience to create connection and inspiration.

Now that we're on the same page, here's a simple template from Simon Sinek's book Start With WHY to help you write your WHY statement.

It goes like this:

"To _____________________ so that __________________________________."

OK, ok, you're probably wondering what the heck to do with this, so let me give you an example.

Here's my Business WHY:

It absolutely breaks my heart when I see an entrepreneur who has a gift that the world desperately needs, but she doesn’t know how to communicate that gift in a way that inspires people to do business with her.

Not only does she end up discouraged, broke and living out of alignment with her purpose, but those who need her gift don't get to experience it.

That's why my WHY is "to help entrepreneurs communicate their gifts clearly and authentically so they can serve the people who need them most."

In addition to my "business WHY" above, I also have a strong personal WHY.

Since I was in high school, I knew that I was meant to be entrepreneur - that I had to create something that didn't exist before and that I'd NEVER be able to follow anyone else's rules. Plus, I wanted the freedom to spend my time exactly as I wished.

Here's my Personal WHY:

"To build a life of freedom - freedom to create, freedom to travel, freedom to design my own schedule, freedom to spend time with loved ones, so that I can lead a life I feel proud of."

The WHY Challenge:

Knowing your WHY is great and all, but it doesn't do any good locked up inside. You need to share it!

Over at the Daring Divas Facebook group, we're sharing our WHY's this week. I invite you to be extra daring by sharing your WHY in a Facebook LIVE!